Developmental Change in Na,K-ATPase α1 and β1 Expression in Normal and Hypothyroid Rat Renal Cortex

Abstract

Renal Na,K-ATPase drives active reabsorption of sodium and cotransported solutes along the nephron. There is a large increase in net Na⁺ reabsorption in the postnatal rat kidney. It has previously been established that the postnatal increase in expression of sodium pump isoforms in the brain, but not the heart, is blunted in the hypothyroid neonate. The aims of this study were to establish whether the developmental increase in renal sodium transport is associated with coordinate increases in the abundance of the sodium pump α₁ catalytic and β₁ glycoprotein subunits and Na,K-ATPase activity, and to determine whether thyroid status influences the postnatal increase in renal Na,K-ATPase expression. Pregnant rats were made hypothyroid with low iodine diet, propylthiouracil and perchlorate. Offspring were hypothyroid assessed by triiodothyronine/thyroxine RIA. Renal cortical membranes were prepared from euthyroid and hypothyroid rats from 6 to 24 days of age. There was no change in Na,K-ATPase activity or expression between 6 and 15 days. Between 15 and 24 days, Na,K-ATPase activity increased 1.35-fold while sodium pump α₁ and β₁ subunit abundance increased coordinately to 1.7- and 2-fold over the previous period, respectively. In hypothyroid neonates, kidney weight was less than in euthyroids, and Na,K-ATPase activity, α₁ and β₁ subunit pool sizes did not significantly increase as a function of age between 6 and 24 days. We conclude that the postnatal increase in sodium pump activity can be accounted for by coordinate increases in the pool sizes of α₁ and β₁ subunits and that, like in brain, this increased Na,K-ATPase expression is dependent on normal thyroid status.